Who: Yelena and Dieter What: Exploring Wonderland When: Sept 3 [Backdated] Where: Near the feast Rating: low
At first glance, going to a feast with Dieter seemed like a good idea. Yelena like the idea of doing something that seemed kind of fancy. Of course she didn't realize that this was Wonderland and feasts were different. Not until they were already in the portal and Yelena realized that this Wonderland could be dangerous and not just in a psychedelic sort of way. Not only that, but something was telling her that they couldn't get out the way that they had gotten in. She was worried they were stuck.
This had Yelena on her toes. She didn't want to be out on a date with Dieter only to have him die on her. This meant that as they walked through the strange forest of Wonderland, Yelena walked close to Dieter. Her eyes were constantly moving as she assessed threats. “Maybe we should just look for the portal door to leave...” It wasn’t her to sound like this, and yet, here she was.
–
Dieter was happy to be spending the day with Yelena, even if that meant dealing with dangers. Yes, he was a rebel, having been through his own set of adventures back home. But even those adventures hadn’t prepared him for the weirdness of Wonderland.
Tugging slightly at the odd clothing the portal had chosen for him (the pants were a little too snug!) Dieter looked over at her as they walked along a path. “Why? The feast sounds very interesting, yes? We might even see the large rhyming blue caterpillar?”
Why yes, he might’ve been misinterpreting Yelena’s closeness for fondness instead of simple protectiveness.
–
Yelena thought the snugness was enjoyable from a ‘staring at his behind’ scenario. She didn’t mind her corset since it seemed to allow her to move enough that she knew she could kick ass if she needed too. She had experience enough with the on thanks to the Red Room’s training. Yelena reached up and adjusted the strange goggles sitting on her head.
Did she want to admit she was nervous? No. Even if she was getting better at speaking her mind to Dieter, it was still hard for Yelena to express worry and weakness. Another thing they could thank the Red Room’s training for.
“Do you really think there’s a blue caterpillar?” She wondered if it’d be giant and try to eat them instead of rhyme. “... maybe the feast will be okay. If we can find it.” Since someone from Madison would be there. They wouldn’t let other refugees die, right?
–
It had taken a lot for Dieter to focus on their surroundings, especially with Yelena’s corset being a distraction (times two).
“Ah,” Dieter cleared his throat, looking around at the dimly lit forest as they walked along on a deceptively well-manicured path. “Maybe?” He straightened up, attempting to look confident. “If anything should happen, maybe you should get behind me?” Not that that would help, but it made his slowly dwindling masculinity feel a smidge more useful.
–
She turned her head to look at him with a face that said 'really?' Yelena was trying to figure out if Dieter was being serious. Of course he was being serious. She knew he had seen her fight, though she hadn't quite told him about her entire life yet.
"I've been fighting since I was a little kid. I can probably punch a smiling cat if one attacks." She had no idea what else was around other than the Cheshire Cat. Though suddenly a thought popped in her head and she stopped walking. This thought would never enter her head before, but it did now. "... Does that bother you?" She asked honestly, a little worried.
–
“Should you want to do that? … Punch a smiling cat?” He’d sneeze at the cat if they came across it, being the proud owner of a cat allergy. However, he could definitely picture Yelena punching the Cheshire Cat.. And while it might’ve made PETA cringe, the mental image made him smile.
Stopping when she did, he looked over at her. “What?” Dieter frowned in slight confusion. “The young fighting or the cat punches?” Then he realized something. “Either way, it doesn’t bother me, Yelena.” Dieter’s hands found hers, giving them a gentle squeeze. “It’s what makes you you. Though may I say that I have had the distinct honor of getting to see the squishy nougat inside of you.”
–
Yelena understood how a lot of men operated, or at least she thought she did. She was vaguely aware that the Red Room probably wasn’t the healthiest form of education on how men worked, but she knew the way she was trained was effective. When she had been sent to kill someone, she had always had to play the demure and the dumb. The flirty, giggly woman who would scream at a mouse. It worked every time, too, that it was hard for Yelena to really understand there were men secure enough in themselves that a woman who could kill you in under ten seconds wasn’t a threat to their masculinity. Their lives, sure, but not their masculinity.
She let out a soft little breath and her shoulders relaxed. She squeezed his hands back and when he spoke about her squishy insides, she actually blushed a little, looking down at their hands. Okay, so, he was right. He had been able to see past her hard exterior and she let him in more than most people. In fact, he and Natasha were probably the only two who knew her well, with Clint falling into third and only because she knew he was a smart man.
“One day I promise to tell you about how I grew up.” Which was a big thing to admit let alone do. “...Not in the middle of Wonderland, but I will. I promise.” And hopefully he wouldn’t run for the hills, she thought.
–
Dieter had never really understood the giggly flirty sort of women. Maybe some men liked that, but Dieter himself had always decided to march to the beat of his own drum (or sometimes to not march at all!) The German was an odder duck in a pond full of simply odd ducks.
“I would like that very much.” And he would, truly. Yelena opening up to him with such a personal story made him feel incredibly honored. Maybe even after a while he’d open up about his own past and the story of Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert, something he had never spoken of after that day over six years ago.
Hopefully she wouldn’t run screaming into the hilly regions of Madison Valley..